British PM to persuade
Jonathan to give equal rights to gay/lesbians…
Britain
will engage Nigeria on the bill seeking
to stop same-sex marriage, British Prime Minister David Cameron said yesterday.
He was
speaking against the backdrop of the legislation already passed by the National
Assembly prescribing 14 years imprisonment for same sex marriage offenders. The
bill is waiting for presidential assent to become law.
Cameron said
yesterday “nothing should be off the table” when it comes to foreign aid and
protecting equal rights. He spoke on a BBC programme.
Cameron told
the BBC that he would be raising the issue with Nigeria’s leaders.
“With
countries like Nigeria, where we have a very good relationship, a very strong
relationship, nothing should be off the table”, the prime minister said.
“So when we
meet with Nigerian politicians and Nigerian leaders, we should be very clear
about those things that we agree about and very clear where we disagree.”
Mr Cameron
said the UK has a “very good record on equal rights for lesbian and gay
people”, adding: “we believe that’s right for every country in the world.”
“The matter
of your sexuality is something that shouldn’t be a disadvantage to you [just
as] your religion, or your race, or the way you should choose your life “
When asked
if UK foreign aid should be docked from Nigeria, the prime minister said: “We
will have to have some conversations with them, as I said nothing is off the
table and we should have these conversations, but we also have some very
important objectives with the Nigerians for instance to deal with the appalling
rates of poverty in the north of Nigeria which [is] part of a problem that affects
not just Nigeria but the rest of the world.”
The PM
added: “But as I said, nothing [is] off the table; always prepared to have
these conversations, and my view very strongly is that we should have proper
equality for lesbian and gay people and that should apply everywhere in the
world.”
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